Super Bowl losers have long hangover

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, November 6, 2004

When the Raiders fell to 4-12 last year following their Super Bowl defeat the previous January, they were an unwitting part of a continuing trend.

The Carolina Panthers, who coincidentally play the Raiders on Sunday in Charlotte, N.C., are the fourth consecutive Super Bowl losers to have their problems the following season. The Giants and Rams took their Super Bowl lumps, then went 7-9 in 2001 and 2002, respectively. The Raiders took it to new depths, and the Panthers are doing likewise, bringing a 1-6 record into Sunday's game.

But Panthers coach John Fox doesn't believe in what is being called a Super Bowl hangover.

"A lot's been made of that, both on a national level and locally, but I honestly don't think so," Fox said in a conference call this week. "I think there's outstanding parity in the league.

"It comes down to being fortunate. Part of that equation is injuries. You get key people hurt, it definitely affects your team, and winning close games. I know in our case this year, really you could argue every one of our games we've been in contention for, and we've only won one of those six opportunities."

Of the Panthers six losses, only the 30-8 decision in Philadelphia could be considered a blowout. Two of their defeats were by a touchdown or less, and two others were within reach until the fourth quarter.

"We're close, but we're just not making the plays that we made last year, " Charlotte quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "It's plain and simple. And it's pretty much everyone on the team. It just hasn't been one person, in particular."

Besides, it's hard to run an offense from the hospital. Wide receiver Steve Smith, who had 88 catches a year ago, was lost for the season with a broken fibula in the opening game; running back Stephen Davis, who could return this week, has missed five games after arthroscopic knee surgery in September and his replacement, DeShaun Foster, has been placed on injured reserve with a broken clavicle.

"It's just kind of mounted," Delhomme said. "But you can't feel sorry for yourself. You just got to work hard and get after it. I don't know what it is. It seemed like we didn't have the injuries last year and things of that nature. But it's happened this year. You just got to keep going forward."

Raiders coach Norv Turner, whose own injury list has been lengthy this year, believes they certainly have been a factor with Carolina.

"They've lost their runners," Turner said. "When you have a Stephen Davis and Foster and Smith, those are the guys who made the plays for them last year during that stretch, that run they had at the end of the season at their playoff run."

Delhomme, who became the starter last year after five seasons as the backup in New Orleans, finished a respectable seventh in the NFC with a passing rating of 80.6. But in the Panthers' postseason run he was in another world with a rating of 106.1, with six TDs and one interception in four games. This year, his rating is 69.3, with 11 interceptions and nine TD passes.

"I don't think it's mechanical," Fox said. "I think clearly, what it is . .. is chemistry and knowing what a guy is going to do before he does it, and building that chemistry. ... Quarterback is probably the hardest position to develop that with because he's involved in everything and everybody, whether it's protection, whether it's the tight end's routes, the blocking scheme, the receiver's style, it just takes time."

Fox, of course, has some history with the Raiders, that, like many dealings with the franchise, is something of a mystery. He quit abruptly during training camp in 1996, after two years as defensive coordinator. Neither he nor the Raiders have said much about it since, and Fox was no more enlightening this week.

"It just didn't work out," he said. "It's part of this business. When you're not getting it done, it's time to move on. It's true with players, and it's true with coaches. That's really it in a nutshell."